The soul, R&B and gospel singer is often called the "king of soul" and first rose to prominence as the lead singer of the band called The Soul-Stirrers, which he joined in 1950.
In , singer-songwriter and guitarist Art Garfunkel wrote of him, "Sam Cooke was grounded in a very straightforward singing style: It was pure, beautiful and open-throated, extraordinarily direct and unapologetic... He had fabulous chops, but at the same time fabulous taste. I never felt that he was overdoing it, as I often feel with singers today. He stayed rhythmic and fluty and floaty; he always showed brilliant vocal control."
He released his first solo single in 1956 and is known today for hits such as "You Send Me," "A Change is Gonna to Come," Wonderful," "Twistin' the Night Away" and "Cupid." He had 30 Top 40 hit songs between 1957 and 1964.
